Please - quick answer to a pregnancy/sickness question?

DH and I spent about 5 hours at a friend's small apartment on
Saturday. He cooked (and obviously, touched) our dinner and we shared
close quarters through the evening. His wife just told me that by the
time we left Saturday night, he had a fever of 103. Last night it
spiked to almost 105 and he had to be admitted to the hospital. It's
only strep throat, and he's okay. However, I am still worrying.

I woke up with a sore throat today and am feeling washed out. This
could easily be just the pregnancy, but it could be that I caught
strep from him (I am very susceptible and sensitive to it and always
have been). Is there any increased risk to me or the baby? Does the
baby "catch" any illness I have in my bloodstream?

I'd call my OB, but I just sat down for a 2 hour class -- was hoping
someone out there could get me a quick answer before my paranoia
causes me to flee the room. Thanks!!

-Carlye
Baby girl "Afton" due 9-25-04

Carlye wrote:

DH and I spent about 5 hours at a friend's small apartment on
Saturday. He cooked (and obviously, touched) our dinner and we shared
close quarters through the evening. His wife just told me that by the
time we left Saturday night, he had a fever of 103. Last night it
spiked to almost 105 and he had to be admitted to the hospital. It's
only strep throat, and he's okay. However, I am still worrying.

I woke up with a sore throat today and am feeling washed out. This
could easily be just the pregnancy, but it could be that I caught
strep from him (I am very susceptible and sensitive to it and always
have been). Is there any increased risk to me or the baby? Does the
baby "catch" any illness I have in my bloodstream?

I'd call my OB, but I just sat down for a 2 hour class -- was hoping
someone out there could get me a quick answer before my paranoia
causes me to flee the room. Thanks!!

-Carlye
Baby girl "Afton" due 9-25-04

Hi Carlye,

You should see your OB, so you can take care of yourself,
but no, most illnesses you catch, do not directly affect
the baby. So *that* worry you can let you of.

Emily

In message , Carlye
writes
DH and I spent about 5 hours at a friend's small apartment on
Saturday. He cooked (and obviously, touched) our dinner and we shared
close quarters through the evening. His wife just told me that by the
time we left Saturday night, he had a fever of 103. Last night it
spiked to almost 105 and he had to be admitted to the hospital. It's
only strep throat, and he's okay. However, I am still worrying.

I woke up with a sore throat today and am feeling washed out. This
could easily be just the pregnancy, but it could be that I caught
strep from him (I am very susceptible and sensitive to it and always
have been). Is there any increased risk to me or the baby? Does the
baby "catch" any illness I have in my bloodstream?

I'd call my OB, but I just sat down for a 2 hour class -- was hoping
someone out there could get me a quick answer before my paranoia
causes me to flee the room. Thanks!!

Strep won't directly cause your baby any problems, but a high fever
might. If you run a temperature, take Paracetamol (sorry, that's Tylenol
to Americans ;-) ) and if that doesn't bring it down, talk to your OB
about whether to take Ibuprofen or not.

Also, penicillin _might_ be worthwhile if you're running a temperature.
I would normally recommend not bothering - sore throats usually heal
themselves at pretty much the same speed regardless of whether or not
you take antibiotics, and there are good reasons not to take antibiotics
for minor illnesses (even when you're not pregnant). However, sore
throats associated with high temperatures are possibly more likely to be
the ones that might respond more quickly to antibiotics, and it might be
worthwhile trying it just in hopes of reducing the time that your
temperature stays high, and hence the risk to the baby.

If your temperature is normal, I wouldn't recommend taking any specific
treatment for the sore throat - throat sweets/hot drinks and rest work
as well as anything else. But your OB _might_ want to screen for other
infections, so it wouldn't hurt to talk to them.


All the best,

Sarah

--
"I once requested an urgent admission for a homeopath who had become depressed
and taken a massive underdose" - Phil Peverley